THE MEANING OF “ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE”-PART 1

Just when you thought the dark side of medical information couldn’t get more science debased, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a strange article on emergency preparedness that was straight out of “Tales from the Crypt.” Fresh from the bubbling cauldrons of the CDC, “Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse,” by Ali S. Kahn, MD,[1] MPH, is a suspiciously elaborate concoction, mingling emergency readiness procedures with choice delicacies from zombie horror fiction. Featuring emergency “essentials” such as zombie history, etiology, diet (brains) and “diagnosis,” along with horror film favorites and a zombie escape plan, “Zombie Apocalypse” is an amusing distraction of weirdness that belies its purpose.

Objectives Behind the Weirdness

If you had read the article’s “A Brief History of Zombies,” you may have thought the same as I did – What the…? A zombie apocalypse? After a quick rebound from the mild aftershock of disbelief, I continued reading with a sense of uneasiness. Clearly the method to the madness was to use this fear-based zombie horror scenario to capture the attention of a select target audience.

For many, “Zombie Apocalypse” may have seemed like a fun way to review the basics of emergency planning. But there’s another side to this monster mash that’s as disturbing as the thought of being chased by a band of hunger-crazed zombies. Although fronting legitimately good emergency preparedness recommendations, this exercise in zombie tactical maneuvers also demonstrates how good advice can be used to infuse elements of subtle propaganda and fear-based conditioning strategies to manage public health objectives.

To fully appreciate the real meaning of “Zombie Apocalypse,” we need to process this information within the context of CDC primary objectives. Consider the following list of pertinent objectives aggressively pursued by the CDC today: 1) to manage public behavior toward vaccine compliance; 2) to exaggerate normal childhood diseases as largely deadly or with precipitating harmful life-long consequences; 3) to promote flawed or bogus research studies and statistics to legitimize actions for imposing vaccinations and vaccine mandates; 4) to feed the public misinformation and media hype to induce a sense of urgency or panic to surge vaccine demand; 5) to establish a derogatory language or icon (such as zombies) that can be identified with those who refuse vaccinations and oppose vaccine mandates; and 6) to convince you to relinquish your mind, body and will to the recommendations and demands of these health officials who claim to know best how to protect you in a zombie emergency.